Wednesday, 21 October 2015

Recently a ballet friend called Brian (AKA "La plus celebre du monde") told me he was was teaching the Trockaderos whilst they were on tour of the UK. I begged him to arrange an opportunity for me to draw their class and rehearsals, last weekend my wish was granted and I spent two happy afternoons and evenings watching this extraordinary ballet company at work.

If you do not already know who "the Trocks" are you must watch this video:

The all male company were formed in the1970s and have a strong following amongst ballet fans who appreciate both their wit and their classical technique. Before arriving I wrote to the director, Tory Dobrin, telling him how important this opportunity was for me because I have always been influenced by the works of Japanese Ukiyo-e (Fleeting Floating World) artists who in the 18- 19th centuries made idealised portraits of the beautiful courtesans in the pleasure quarters of Kyoto and Edo.

Utamaro was a master at idealised beauty

I explained that there was one Ukiyo-e artist who is an enigma, he went his own
individual way and became known for uncompromising characterisations of the
Kabuki actor-dancers who were masters of impersonating women on stage. His name was Sharaku.

Sharaku (active 1794 - 1795)

This is the great Kabuki dancer Tamasaporo who has perfected the female role in a theatrical tradition where woman are forbidden to go on stage.

I got a fairly instant response "Please keep in mind, we do not do female impersonation....we portray Ballerinas on stage with an eye to the fact we are men doing these roles in costumes and wigs, make up etc...but we are not trying to impersonate females". Tory's interesting response has occupied my mind a lot and is a good start point for this blog posting.

On the first day I watched the class and rehearsals from the wings. This was a mistake because I was too close and could not see the wonderful line that is a product of their technique. My drawings reflected my difficulties. The second day was better because I had watched them on stage the evening before and I took a better position from which to study their movements

This study is of a very tall dancer with bony features called Josh. He was very friendly and interested in what I was doing so we became friends.

Josh

He used his long limbs to make very flamboyant feminine movements and liked using his hands. On stage he was a natural comic.

Josh

and Josh leads an equally colourful life off stage, here he is visiting Stonehenge

Alberto is another characterful dancer. He was slender, naturally elegant and feminine. When people like this enter a room everyone is aware of their personality. I think Sharaku would have loved him as a subject, for a few hours he was mine to draw.

This dancer was manly

This dancer had brilliant jumps

Tory's letter had intimated that it is not their maleness that makes the Trocks different from other ballet companies, it is their determination to be themselves. This is a picture of the Birmingham Royal Ballet dancing the cygnets, each dancer is chosen for their perfection; brilliant technique, beauty and height. They are chosen to fit together in perfect harmony

Birmingham Ballet Dance of the cygnets. Photos Bill
Cooper
Here are the Trocks having fun with the same dance

Here are the Trocks having fun with the same dance

Photo_LoisGreenfield

The Trocks are a group of individuals being themselves

and this has benefits we can all learn from. One dancer was very striking, his name is Philip Martin-Nielson. He is not tall, maybe even slightly stocky, he had a mop of thick blond hair that he held in place with a large plastic hair clip.

Philip Martin-Nielson

I never managed to make a drawing that captured his perfect pointed extensions and neat feminine steps. He danced the role of Odette, the swan maiden who bewitches Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake.

Philip was born in New Yorkand...."at the age of three was diagnosed as profoundly
autistic – unable to speak, make eye contact with others or focus on the
simplest task. He was so severely withdrawn that doctors and therapists
warned his mother that there was little chance of him ever leading an
independent life." His life has been managed and developed through ballet "the first time he told
his mother he wanted to dance was one of the first, halting verbal
communications he’d been able to make."......"Now that terrible early
diagnosis seems impossible to believe. Charming, smiling and candid,
it’s only the occasional hesitancy over an expression or a choice of
word that betrays any sense that language was ever a problem".

I would add that Philip's acting is a feast of facial expressions and body language. In his off stage life he has "a nightlife alter ego" that he calls Mariette Moure.

Dancers like Philip are being themselves, and this exemplifies the culture from which his dance company has grown and flourished.

The Trocks appear to mock the perfectionof the Royal Ballet, but perhaps they have a different message, perhaps they are saying we are too quick to label our differences as difficulties; we atomise our view of people around us into men and women, we point out when they have "autism,
dyslexia or dyspraxia". When we do this we fail to celebrate the breadth of our humanity and our spirit's ability to find it's own perfection and reconciliation with the world.

I think I understand why Tory was so keen to tell me the Trocks are not impersonators, I also think the enigma of Sharaku's independence of spirit belongs with their view of the world.

Thursday, 8 October 2015

These are a selection of drawings made during our 9 day trip to
Italy. For the first five days we shared a villa in hills near
Massa Lubrense which is a few miles west of Sorrento.

On the first day our friends wanted to "chill out", fortunately the villa was
surrounded with things that I wanted to draw, like this ancient olive tree

Ancient Olive tree

and this pot plant

and this delicate sedge

The temperatures were in the mid twenties and there were plenty of lizards
that darted across the stones and rustled amongst the leaves. I found that if I
sat still long enough they would return and watch me back

Green lizard on leaf

and there was even a gecko which sat on the wall at
night

Our spacious villa had been built by the owner farmer in his olive and lemon grove. He had put all his passion into decorating the bedrooms with brightly coloured friezes of mermaids
and Romans.

There was even a Roman in a tree guarding the entrance.

Strangely his eccentric tastes fitted well with the history and personality of the landscape.

After we had settled in we took the car down winding roads to a fishing village built
on cliff edges. Massa Lubrense has a pretty harbour which is reached by walking down a
steep-stepped ally between pretty fisherman's cottages that are now mostly uninhabited (take a look if you are wanting a to buy a holiday home in Italy). The main square of the
town is well kept and thriving.

Massa Lubrense

The following day we tried to go to Pompeii but took a wrong
turning and ended up driving the length of the coastal road that winds along cliff edges through towns that cling to the south side of the Almalfi peninsular. I chose this picture because it shows the narrow road we travelled along as well as the
extreme beauty of the scenery, it took us three hours to travel 50km.

Positano

By the time we arrived at Pompeii and had something to eat it was already too late to visit the ruins. The next day we used the direct route and reached Pompeii at 9.30 am, my friends took a tour of Vesuvius whilst I drew the bell tower in the main square.

Bell tower in Pompeii

The bell tower (1925) stands
more than 80 metres high and is built in grey granite and
white marble. Next to the tower is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary which was completed in 1901.

The church is a work of spirit

Inside the air was filled with music and a beautiful tenor voice. Standing discreetly to one side I made these drawings of a marriage ceremony that was taking place. The newly married couple, Carlo and Maria-Rosa Rosso, also had a baby that was brought to the alter and blessed. In the front pew were two brides maids who flitted between their parents and the bride.

The square has an impressive collection of palm trees under which old people sit on park benches

After lunch we entering the ruins of Pompeii. The ruins are vast and badly signed. Mami and I eventually settled in the cool of a Roman bath house where the walls were covered with images of water, like this relief of a cherub and dolphin

Cherub and Dolphin - Bath house Pompeii

and this hippocampus (Seahorse)

hippocampus in the bath house Pompeii

Through images like these it was possible to imagine the spirit of the people who lived there.

The following day we took a boat from Sorrento to Naples. As we were leaving the harbour I drew this image of the rocks of Sorrento.

Sorrento

An impressive castle overlooks the port where we docked,

Castel Nuovo Napoli

inside the walls are museums and galleries where I drew this Madonna.

Madonna

there are also many attractive architectural details, whilst I was drawing this portico a group of guests arrived in chic Italian clothes and gathered round the door for a wedding about to take place inside the castle.

Wedding Guests at the Castel Nuovo

Our trip in Naples was cut short because we had to catch an early boat back to Sorrento. We only had time for a quick lunch and brief walk through the bustling streets of "Old Naples". For me the city was an artists paradise but not for my companions who were disappointed by the graffiti that cover the walls and alleyways that are littered with excrement and broken glass. Sadly we never stopped long enough for me to draw the beautiful lamp posts, architecture and vibrant street life, I only managed one quickly scribbled sketch of an equestrian statue.

Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II

Sorrento is the opposite to Naples. In the summer months it's native
populations is swollen with beautiful people from all over the world who
come to inhabit the coffee bars and restaurants.

Cafe bar in Sorrento

This is where I drew and met an elegant German man, Stephan Nouss who was sipping coffee with his Italian boyfriend and a spaniel on his lap.

Stephan Nouss

This is pretty waitress who served us called Imma

Imma

and this is a sketch of the road down to the port

road down to Sorrento harbour

Here is a view from the harbour

In the main Square of Sorrento (Tasso Square) I came across was a statue of a monk with his foot on the head of a fish, the plaque told me the statue used to be on an arch over the city gates and represented the "Protettore di Sorrento".

Walking just a few yards down a side street I found another square with another statue of a monk with his foot on a fish

Saint Antonino in Sorrento

This time I learnt the name of the mysterious protector; St Antonino. The Statue faced a church, this is how statues guided me to the Basilica of St Antonino, patron saint of Sorrento.

St Antonino was born in Campagna and died in Sorrento in 625. Around the upper pediments that rim the interior of the church are a series of pictures depicting the many miracles St Antonino performed in Sorrento, the most famous being the delivery of a child from the mouth of a whale.

St Antonino was a favourite for seafarers who have honoured him by placing these whale bones at the entrance of the Basilica.

In another miracle he rubbed oil to heal the leg of a the Bishop of Sorrento after he had fallen off a donkey. The church offer holy oil to pilgrims who visit St Antonino's tomb in the crypt,

St Antonino's tomb in Sorrento

the oil is taken by dipping your hand into a jar at the back of the shrine.

Pilgrims who are healed by the oil record their gratitude by placing silver plaques around the shrine. It seems the oil is particularly good for healing legs.

but he also heals diseases of the lungs, hearts and minds.

Alas our day at Sorrento was our last on the Almalfi Peninsular, the next day we travelled to a film festival with Alberto who was waiting to be picked up from Naples airport. The drive North took 12 hours. In the unindustrialised South driving seemed like a social dance, even in Naples there are often no traffic lights or rights of way at major junctions, driving was about nudging and giving way. In contrast the motorways of the north are clogged with lorries and competitive drivers that came up behind us and flashed to move us aside.

It was dark and raining when we arrived at our destination which was an Alpine house in the Sud Tyrol, area on the border with Austria where the local population speak German as their first language. The rich land in valley is covered with vineyards and apple trees.

Getting up early I went outside to look at our location, we were on a small holding high in the mountains. The clouds shifted across the valley below us.

The panoramic view was like a cinema screen, the picture always moving between thick white fog and shards of sunshine so hot they burnt the skin. Sometimes when the mist parted and I could see a church in a village below us

Church in the clouds

The countryside felt very alive. Out of the mist I could hear the sound of bells on languid animals. The owner of our house had chickens and a cockerel, three cats that mewed and a caged rabbit with black eyes. I saw jays and heard blackbirds, finches, great tits and the peeping squeaks of families of goldcrests and long tailed tits in the trees about me. On the meadow Alpine flowers were still blooming

in amongst purple Alpine plantains and grasses unknown to me.

Against trees and posts were collections of tools for scratching the earth, scythes for cutting crops, pole ladders for collecting apples.

the owner obviously appreciated nature, he had placed bird boxes for blue tits.

After breakfast we went down to the valley to a food festival that was taking place in Kaltern, a neighbouring town. The rich sun baked valley around Kaltern is covered with neatly tended vineyards (the highest in Europe) and apple groves (10% of Europe's apples are grown in this region). The culture and food festival was very German; Apple strudel, beer, tidy, geraniums, reserved warmth, there was little of untidiness and informal friendliness we had seen in Souther Italy. |

Kaltern

Drinking in Kaltern

The Fountain in Kaltern

Even the smallest village had beautiful well kept churches,

and perched on rocks are impressive ruins of castles

In the evening we went to the film festival that was being held in old railway station. The film Alberto was showing is about Mami's dancing, it was shot in black and white celluloid and only 90 seconds long. Before we went in we had bowls of pumpkin soup amongst groups of film makers

and slightly dishevelled men

who looked as if they might be chatting about Sartre with their intellectual girlfriends

and for five minutes Mami was dressed like a film star and drinking delicious local wine

It was an exhilarating way to end our holiday. The film was well received and is going to be shown again at festivals in Barcelona and California

About Me

In the 1970s I attended day classes in sculpture and drawing and realised I was
not very talented. In particular I had very poor conception of space. I
have been serious about improving my drawing for all of my adult life.

I have used unusual methods to overcome my weaknesses. One is to
always draw from moving figures, only rarely do I work from static
models. In the 1970 - 80s I spent many thousands of hours drawing dancers
rehearsing, the results were mostly bad drawings, but they were always moving
forward. This experience has been the bedrock on which I built my drawing technique

Since 1999 I have lived in Pembrokeshire. I still draw my wife, who is a
ballet dancer, when she rehearses. I also draw faces on television for
several hours every night. I love most to draw from life.

The other method to improve my drawing has been to learn about the mind. I read books about
neuroscience and the brain. This knowledge is really helpful to my
drawing, and enabled me to understand what I am trying to do. I am a slow
reader and read books only on this subject. (It is not that I dislike
novels or newspapers, it is that I do not have the time).

In my opinion drawing and Art generally, is about the sharing of spirit.
This concept of sharing is central to art, and central to humanity. My
view is that art is all around us, being done by everyone and can never be
owned. So if you like my drawings you are free to download and use
them. It is also why I do not sell or sign my drawings, because to my way
of thinking this would deface their purpose.